Solanum tuberosum

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   Solanum tuberosum

Solanum tuberosum L., the potato, Solanaceae, is an important tuber crop, now very widely cultivated.   The tubers are formed from the apical parts of underground stems.  

Potato, an important source of dietary and industrial starch, is a staple food in many countries, but consumed throughout the world.  

Potatoes are used as antiscorbutic, aperient, diuretic and galactagogue.   Extract of potato leaves is antispasmodic in cough.   Tuber paste rubbed on the skin discourages dermal pathogens and the paste is also applied on burns.

The tubers contain a lectin and phenolic compounds (such as rutin) that oxidise on exposure to air, imparting a brown colour to the cut surfaces.

The potato ‘seed’ for cultivation is the ‘eye’ (constituted of a bud and a scale leaf) from the tuber (looking like pits on tubers; Solanum tuberosum3).   The attractive flowers, blue in some and white in other varieties (Solanum tuberosum1) and the real seed from the fruits (Solanum tuberosum2) are not important to the cultivator but the plant breeder needs them.   Flowers and fruits of potato are not a common sight.

The tubers often sprout in storage and develop green colour due to formation of chlorophyll, before sprouting (see the lower right tuber in Solanum tuberosum3).   At this stage,  glycosidal alkaloids, that are toxic, accumulate and hence the green part of the tuber should be discarded.